'Bleacher Report' has predicted that Manny Machado will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.

'Bleacher Report' has predicted that Manny Machado will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.

Manny Machado was the talk of the MLB trade deadline and was even talked about as a potential trade candidate throughout the offseason. It became clear that the Baltimore Orioles would be forced to make a trade due to Machado being unlikely to re-sign with the franchise following the 2018 MLB season.

The day after the MLB All-Star game, Machado was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a big pickup for the Dodgers, but the team knows that they may very well only have him for the remainder of the 2018 season.

Looking ahead at the upcoming offseason, there are quite a few teams that would love the opportunity to sign Machado. He will have the opportunity to choose from quite a few big offers from any team that he wants to play for.

Bleacher Report seems to have one team already in mind that he will end up signing with. That team would be the Philadephia Phillies, who were rumored to be one of the teams trying to acquire him from the Orioles before he was traded to the Dodgers.

“Besides the money, Machado may be drawn to the opportunity to play at Citizens Bank Park. It’s the best possible park for a right-handed slugger to call home.”

Throughout the 2018 season thus far split between the Orioles and Dodgers, Machado has put up solid all-around numbers. He has a .308 batting average to go along with 26 home runs and 70 RBI’s. Those numbers show exactly why Machado will have a major amount of interest in him this offseason.

At 26 years old, Machado is in the prime of his career. He will have the opportunity to pick where he plays the next phase of his career. That decision won’t be easy, but the Phillies could make a lot of sense.

Philadelphia has come out of nowhere to be a serious contender in the National League. They are currently 64-50 on the season, which has them in first place in the National League East division. While there is still plenty of baseball left to be played this year, the Phillies appear to have a good chance to make the playoffs.

A young team having success and building something big could intrigue a star player like Machado. He would be exactly the kind of bat that the Phillies need to take the next step.

Expect to see the Phillies show major interest in Machado this offseason. They are going to have some competition, but if they play their cards right, they might just have a new franchise face following free agency.